VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - A Maryland recreational fishing organization is challenging Virginia’s management of menhaden, alleging state regulators bypassed public input when setting harvest quotas and failed to adequately protect a fish that feeds wildlife throughout the Chesapeake Bay.
The Chesapeake Legal Alliance filed the petition Oct. 22 in Virginia Beach Circuit Court on behalf of the Southern Maryland Recreational Fishing Organization. The case challenges the Virginia Marine Resources Commission’s use of private letters to notify commercial fishing licensees of their 2026 harvest allocations.
According to the petition, the commission issued those letters Jan. 30 without conducting a new public rulemaking process or providing a Virginia-specific conservation analysis. The fishing organization says it obtained the letters Sept. 1 through a public records request.
The dispute follows the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s decision to reduce the coastwide menhaden harvest quota by 20% for 2026. The organization argues Virginia could not simply apply that change through its existing allocation system without evaluating the appropriate harvest level for state waters.
According to the filing, the letters allocated approximately 276.6 million pounds of menhaden to the reduction fishing sector, representing about 90% of Virginia’s quota. The petition identifies Omega Protein as the company comprising that sector, which harvests menhaden for processing into fish meal, oils, and other products.
The organization argues the allocation fails to adequately account for conservation needs and the interests of recreational fishermen.
Menhaden are a food source for striped bass, also known as rockfish, as well as osprey, dolphins, and other wildlife. The fishing group alleges heavy industrial harvesting reduces that food supply, harming the Bay ecosystem and recreational fishing opportunities.
The petition also raises concerns about harvesting near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and off Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
An existing cap limits industrial menhaden harvesting inside the Bay to 51,000 metric tons annually, roughly 112 million pounds. However, the organization argues waters east of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel lack comparable geographic restrictions, allowing substantial harvesting near the Bay’s entrance while remaining subject to the overall quota.
The group alleges that fishing in those waters removes menhaden before they can enter and replenish the Bay.
The petition asks the court to set aside, suspend, or return the challenged quota action to the commission and require a public rulemaking process supported by conservation analysis. It also seeks a deadline for that work and reimbursement of legal fees and costs.
Alternatively, if the court determines the quota letters did not constitute a regulation, the organization argues the commission unlawfully failed to adopt the regulations required to implement the harvest changes.
